22 May OVTAA 2023 Award Recipients
The Oregon Veterinary Technician and Assistant Association is honored to recognize individuals that have gone above and beyond for the veterinary profession, our community, and the people in it. We are proud to announce the following 2023 OVTAA Awards recipients:
Veterinary Assistant of the Year
Tiana Ross
Frontier Veterinary Hospital
Nominated by Chantal Faraudo CVT, CVPP – I had the pleasure of meeting Tiana in a RECOVER CPR class in April 2023, given by RESPOND CPR for the veterinary team. Tiana demonstrated innate leadership qualities in this class. She was the least experienced person but showed humility, was eager to learn, she had very intuitive interpersonal skills, was extremely intelligent, related to every person in the class in a very positive way, demonstrated positive communication skills to every person in the class, was amicable to everyone in the class regardless of their personality and performed at a very high level in the class with the least experience. I was so impressed by Tiana’s performance and her ability to learn and adapt in the moment. Tiana was an eloquent communicator, who was authentic and clear in her communications. She never pretended to be more than she really was and the team understood that. She treated every person in the class equally and maintained her openness to learn and take feedback from everyone.
It was apparent that Tiana’s goal is to learn from anyone that is willing to teach and share. This is a person that needs to be supported and recognized to excel in veterinary medicine. Tiana has aspirations to go to Vet school and I see her as what the future of veterinary medicine needs. JUST AN INCREDIBLE HUMAN BEING!!!
Outstanding Service Award:
Drea Hutchinson
Rose City Veterinary Hospital
Nominated by Becky Smith CVT, VTS – Drea has been a part of the Rose City Veterinary hospital team for over 10 years and she radiates joy and enthusiasm for her patients each and every day. Drea is a tireless advocate for our clients and patients. Her knowledge and compassion are obvious to everyone she works with. She is committed to making sure that our patients have as much of a stress free experience as they can. She also does all she can to support the human/animal bond so that our clients will have the best experience that they can and always will go out of her way to offer solutions that work for all involved.
Drea loves to educate clients and staff and shares that passion with her team. She has great attention to detail and pride herself in making sure that the hospital and clients have all the information that they need. Drea is THE champion of pet insurance at our clinic and has been so amazing at it that she is used as an example by Trupanion animal insurance. Countless clients have been able to approve the care their pet needs because they had insurance that Drea recommended! She is also a great partner to our veterinarians, making sure that they feel supported and is always our go to for training new relief veterinarians.
Rose City Veterinary Hospital is lucky to have Drea on their team and we are so proud of her for this accomplishment!
Veterinary Technician of the Year Award:
Beth Palmer CVT
Center Oregon Community College Veterinary Technology Program
Nominated by Sarah Ostrin CVT, VTS
Beth is one of the most kind and compassionate people you will ever meet and one of the most dedicated technician advocates Oregon has. After completing her Associate of Applied Science in Veterinary Technology at Portland Community College, she went on to obtain her bachelor’s degree in professional technical education and instructional design, followed by a master’s degree in education. From day one she knew she wanted to serve future generations of not just pets, but to guide and support the technicians who would care for them. After working as a technician for 14 years Beth went on to become the director of the Central Oregon Community College Veterinary Technology program. She completely overhauled the program and took it from a 55% pass rate to a 100% pass rate. Beth has spoken out to the public about the important role veterinary technicians play in their pet’s care as well as volunteering out in the community with the Feral Cat Coalition, Central Oregon Cat Alliance, and other low-cost spay-neuter clinics in underserved communities alongside her students. Beth knows what it’s like to “be in the trenches” especially through these last few years of COVID and the technician shortages. She knows the value of a CVT and has shown her dedication to not only this profession but to our community time and again. Despite all that keeps Beth busy at work and her family at home she still continues to take her own knowledge and education seriously.
I’ve seen Beth at so many continuing education events I can’t even count them all. It’s so obvious how much she cares about bringing the most up-to-date information back to her students to help them prepare for the start of their careers. Beth embodies the core values of the OVTAA. Outreach, Voice, Teaching, Advancement, Awareness, and Care.
The nomination period for 2024 awards will open in February 2024.